How to Cut Bangs

Cutting bangs has always been a bit of a hassle to me. And considering I keep my bangs pretty long, I have to cut them often to keep them out of my eyes. A while back I saw an interesting idea about cutting hair using a special tool that looked a lot like a chip clip, and I thought it would be perfect for bangs! So...here it is! How to cut your bangs with a Pampered Chef chip clip.

The before:

Tools Needed: comb, sharp scissors, and a swing-arm chip clip (Pampered Chef was the first place I saw this kind, but they're at Kroger and other places now)

 Use the comb to section off the hair you want to cut. I sort of part mine in a wedge (think of the opposite of a widow's peak). Then clip your bangs with the chip clip. Slide the clip down the hair to the desired length. Clip with scissors.

Tada!

Church Banners

By the way, I had the privilege of designing Advent banners for our church this year. I kept forgetting to take a picture, but someone else did.

Initially, way back in August, I was approached to help make fabric banners. My main job was to work on the concept. It took quite awhile for us to decide on colors, fabrics, all the special bits and baubles that go onto banners, etc. Suddenly, it was November, one of the ladies bowed out of the project, and I figured out I was supposed to be sewing it all together, as well. Now, I like to sew, but it's time-consuming for things I'm familiar with. I had no idea how long it would take for something like this. There was no way it would be done in time for Advent.

So, I suggested we scrap the plan.

"Let me do what I'm good at. I can design the banners and have them printed. They'll look great, won't cost us any more, and best of all, will be up on the wall for the first week of Advent."

The music director (the one coordinating this) was a little hesitant at first. She is very aware of the traditional nature of our church, and not having fabric banners might be a shift some people weren't ready for. Plus, she really had her heart set on fabric banners and felt she wouldn't be happy with anything else.

"Just let me see what I can do. I'll give you a call when I'm ready."

With that, I got busy. I really love designing. It's so much fun to choose fonts and colors, then carefully piece it all together. I enjoyed adding meaning through text in the background, for those who would care to look (verses referencing the attribute of that particular banner). And I added in some light flares reminiscent of Advent candle flames. I kept a traditional font and hoped the sunburst wouldn't be too wild for our church.

When our director saw it, she loved it. She had some reservations about the initial color choices, and I immediately saw that she was right. My choices (aqua, orange, pink) were too contemporary and not related to Advent. I think I chose them because they worked well with the Advent purple background. Muting them to red, green, and gold made much more sense. After that change, it was final! I made the order, we stayed under budget, and the banners were up for the first Sunday after Thanksgiving. They were on curtain rods that were held up by Command strips!

The response was great. Everyone really enjoyed the burst of color it gave our sanctuary, and many commented that we should have something similar up all the time. I had fun doing it, and it's always gratifying to be "in one's element." I'm grateful that I can use my knowledge for such purposes.

The Knitted Sock

So I took up knitting awhile back, and I've really enjoyed it! It's very portable and usually pretty easy to stop when needed. The downside is getting a good collection of needles for all the different projects I'd like to do! When I started, I thought knitting socks would be a very economical thing to do. Cool, and economical. Well, there's nothing much economical about it. It would cost about $6 per pair, plus the hours and hours of labor. However, when you're finished, you have a great pair of wool socks that you can say you made yourself! So...not economical, but still cool in my book.

Did I mention I've only made it through my first sock?

Crafting Getaway

While it seems like most things these days are focused on my kids and family in general, I've gotten some craft projects done lately that I'm really happy about. A few weekends back I got to join my mom, Karen, some friends from my town and a few other girls on a craft retreat. Most everyone was scrapbooking, but I decided to take my sewing things, and it worked out perfectly! I have had a couple projects on my mind (one for over a year), and I finally got them done!
First, I made a birthday banner. I am super-excited about it because I can put it up every birthday, and it will become part of our family's traditions. Plus it's very cute with just the right colors. It just makes me happy.

The second project I had was a purse like the ones I made for the women in my family a couple years back. At the time I had bought some fabric I loved, but like most projects around my house, by the time I got around to making it for myself, I ran out of time or motivation. So this weekend was the weekend! Out came the beautiful fabric, and my purse turned out just like I had imagined. I love it.

 

I can't believe how much I got accomplished over the weekend. Plus my friend Adrienne and I took full advantage of the "big city" to get plenty of shopping in! It was a great time.

How to Paint Nuts and Bolts

When I was repainting Caleb's big boy bed, I really wanted to paint the nuts and bolts that held the bed together. I had in mind that I would hold them out at arm's length and give them a good spraying, but came up with a better idea. Maybe it will help you out on your next repainting project!

1. Poke the bolts through a piece of cardboard.

2. Attach the nuts to the back of the bolts.

 

3. Set the cardboard piece into a box (I stole my cardboard piece from this box) and spray bolt tops with paint.

4. Turn the cardboard piece over and push the bolts through the holes so the nuts touch the cardboard (I didn't want to paint the threading of the bolts in case it might make it harder to screw the nuts on).

5. Spray paint the bolts.

Simple!

Home Tour: Master Bedroom

The master bedroom: the haven of the homeowner and yet often the most-neglected spot in the house. That is true for us, and though I enjoy our bedroom, the color scheme doesn't match the rest of the house. It was also the last room to have the packing boxes taken out and things finally put together in some sort of organization--and that happened the day before the Open House! So I really am enjoying it now.

One thing I requested when we moved here was that I have a "mama chair" here in the bedroom to rock James and feed him. At the time, I thought the glider would remain in the boys' room. It has since moved to the family room, but I'm still enjoying the rocker in our room. It matches the "daddy chair" rocker in the living room, which means things will match in case we ever feel like moving furniture around. So now I have 3 places to rock my babies!

This bedspread should look familiar; we've had it for the entirety of our marriage! It may be the reason I think our room needs updated, but on the other hand, I really love it and haven't found a spread I like better.

And then the view from the closet back to the bathroom....

On into the master bath.... The tilework, cabinet top, and tub all used to be green--that green that was so popular in the 60s. It was all re-enameled to this pristine white before we moved in, and I have to tell you how happy that makes me. I feel that a retro green bathroom would not help me wake up in a good mood!

Oh, and did you want to see what I looked like at 34 weeks pregnant?

Home Tour: Hall and Guest Bath

The hallway was one of my mom's inspirations. She has a wall of family photos (and I mean FULL of photos) at her house, and I wanted something like it. So, she put together this wall. It has lots of photos of Jon and I together (one from the day we started dating), many of Caleb, and many of our extended families.

Jon really loves this wall, and I do, too. I like that it tells the viewer a little about who we are, especially since people here have only known us 6 months.

Here's the look down the hallway.

On the left-hand side, from closest to farthest away:
Linen closet (hooray, hooray!!)
Boys' room
Guest bedroom

On the right-hand side, from closest to farthest away:
Guest bath (in the inset area)
Hall closet (holds games, wrapping paper, etc.)
Master bedroom

I really like the guest bathroom. I think it's cheery and light, with a little bit of whimsy to it.

This cat is a doodle from a San Antonio artist, given to me by my brother and fam.

Home Tour: Family Room

The Family Room is where we spend most of our time at home. Our computers are here, some of Caleb's toys are here (tucked under the breakfast bar...you can't see them in these pics), the laundry gets folded here, the mail gets read here. Everything happens here! Which means it usually looks like a hurricane just blew through! But we still really enjoy it.

 When we moved into this house, we decided to leave our TV behind and instead use my computer for all our media needs. We signed up for Netflix for movies, and watch TV shows on hulu.com. It helps us be a little pickier about what we watch and caters TV to our schedule, instead of the other way around. It's worked out really well for us! And it explains why the couch is facing the computers.

And I want everyone to notice the beautiful desk that Jon made for us when we moved here. It suits our needs perfectly and I love it!

Home Tour: Boys' Room

You've seen a little peek at the boys room from my recent post about Caleb's big boy bed. This room might be my favorite, for several reasons.

I love the colors. It's colorful, but because it's mostly greens and almost no reds, it's not your typical primary-colored kids room. The use of orange instead of red really makes a difference, I think. And the colors are sort of muted, so it doesn't hit you in the face when you come in.

I love the decor! I know, maybe it's vain to say that, but it really was a mod-podge of things we already had or could rig up, and it's vintage-y feel makes it very happy, without feeling so "antique" that it's not fun to play in.

It's very functional. Lots of dresser drawers, shelving for books and closet shelving for storage and linens, under-crib baskets for blankets, and--my favorite--toy bins that make picking up at the end of the day a snap. Everything has its place, and nothing is too fussy or organized that it takes time to put things away. Crayons and paper back on the shelf, cars in the bins, books on the shelves, blocks back in their spot, and the inevitable clean laundry hung back in the closet, and voila! The room goes from messy to clean within the time that Jon's giving Caleb his bath.

It has a play area! When my mom first pulled this play area out of thin air, I was delighted! (That's an old word, isn't it? Well, it's still true. I was delighted.) I had thought for sure the room would be too small for something like that. And when we rearranged to accommodate a second bed, I was so happy to realize that removing the glider had allowed even more room for playtime. Caleb LOVES this area and spends lots of time here.

I love the reminders. Most everything in this room has been touched by some loved one's hands. The songs were put together by my mom. My dad painted the orange door for me, and Caleb loves pointing out each family member in the photos. My best friend's mother-in-law painted the bunny. My grandmother embroidered and sewed the quilt, sheets, and pillows for both beds. I painted the bed frame. Caleb's Aunt Karen painted the letters over his bed. There are memories and faces that go with almost everything!

Home Tour: Living and Dining Revisited

Last weekend we had an Open House for all the members of our church. Our home is 45 years old and feels brand new because of all the hard work that the church put in before we even moved here. Every day Jon and I enjoy our home (and really have trouble picking our "favorite" room) because of what the church did. I found out at the Open House that the church built the house, so the members (many of whom remember when it was built) have seen it transform as ministers come and go. As my mom put it, it's like a Tour of Homes that comes to them, instead of them having to go to it!

So, the Open House was a chance to offer our part of the Tour of Homes. It was a chance to thank our friends and say, "Now you've seen it; feel welcome to come any time!"

It was a fun day, and many people loved the yellow walls (which had been a bit of a sticking point when we first moved here). I loved showing them the many handmade things around the home, some by me and many by friends and family. There isn't much in our home that can be found at Kirklands or someplace like that. Most of our decor has a story and a face behind it, which I love.

As a bonus, I just managed to snap a few pictures of every room before the first guest arrived, so the Home Tour blog posts can continue!

Before I start on any new rooms, I wanted to update the post about the living and dining area. Since then, I have framed some of my student artwork and put it in the dining room. We've also moved our baby swing out of the boys' room. I'm not sure it'll stay where it is, but it is the most convenient spot at the moment.

Here's the update!

How to Hem a Pair of Pants with Cuffs

Here's a hypothetical situation: Your husband received a new black suit in the mail as a gift, and it is your job to find a tailor to have the suit pants hemmed to fit. Let's say, hypothetically, that you are a forgetful procrastinator. Then let's say that your husband tells you one morning, "I'm going to be speaking at the graduation ceremony tonight, and I'd really like to wear my new suit. Could you possibly hem my pants for me today?"

Hypothetically, this is what you would do.

First, you must do a bit of math.

The formula:
Husband's normal pants inseam + 2(width of cuff) + 1/2(width of cuff) = total length of pants before hemming

I chose a 1.5 inch cuff, and my husband has a 34" inseam in his pants. So my formula looked like this:
34 + 3 + 3/4 = 37.75 inches

In theory, I should have measured down 37.75 inches from the top of the inseam, and cut off the extra fabric. I was, however, pretty uncertain in what I was doing, so I chose not to cut just yet. Which pretty much makes the above formula obsolete.

On to the next step!

With the pants inside out, measure down the inseam to the first fold in the pants, which would be (inseam length) + (cuff width). For me, that was 35.5 inches down. Mark it with pins all the way across.

Then fold up and iron flat.


Move the pins you had used to now keep the new fold in place.

Repeat with the other pant leg. Reality Check: Line up the two legs to see if they are the same length.


For whatever reason, one of my folds bowed out a bit, so I refolded, reironed, and repinned that one.

There, that's better!

Now turn the pants right side out and measure your cuff width (for me, 1.5 inches) up from the bottom.

Mark all the way across with pins.

Fold up, iron flat, and move pins to hold the new fold in place.

Repeat with second pant leg. Reality Check: Line up the two legs again to see if they are the same length.

At this point, you're ready to begin sewing. But Jon was still at work for another 30 minutes, and I really wanted to make sure I got the length right before I made a single cut or stitch.

So I waited.

Caleb entertained me with his Moving Rocks from One Receptacle to the Other trick.


Tada!

Jon finally arrived home and it was time to find out if I'd done everything right. If all my measuring and re-measuring had been worth it.

Jon pulls the pants on, as well as the shoes he'll be wearing with them. At first glance, I think, "Hooray! It's an inch above the floor...perfect!"

But then on closer inspection, I realize that the pants are pretty floppy all around the shoe, not straight at the back with a slight break at the front. They were really too long; the only reason they didn't hit the floor is that they were also fairly narrow, so they stayed higher up on the shoe.

Sigh.

Back to the ironing board.

Before Jon gave the pants back, I quickly cuffed the hem one more time (essentially pulling it up another 1.5 inches) and it looked much better. So, I pulled out all the pins and started all over, this time bringing them up 1.5 inches higher than I had before. Again, before making a cut or stitch, I had Jon try them on.

Much better! They fit much more smoothly over the shoe.

Now it was time to take the plunge and make the cut. Yikes.

I gotta say that this was nerve wracking. If you have more confidence in your measuring skills than I do, I would do this before all your folding and pinning! The danger of doing it at the end is that you will inadvertently cut more than one layer of fabric, and thus render the pants absolutely unusable...except to a very short person. If you wait until the end as I did, be very careful. Keep separating the layer of fabric to be cut away from the rest of the layers. Go s.l.o.w.l.y.

Now it's time to sew. I did not include enough fabric at the end to turn and hem in a finished edge. Mostly because there were already lots of layers of fabric, and I wasn't quite sure I could handle another fold-and-iron-and-pin without undoing the other layers. Besides, these are suit pants that will only get gently worn and gently dry-cleaned. If you're hemming your husband's everyday khakis, you might want the finished him. A serger would be perfect for this (and another reason to make the cut in the beginning of the process).

I hand-sewed the stiches because I wanted to pick up all the layers except the outermost. At the seam lines, I sewed along the seam up and down the cuff and did include the outermost layer, in order to tack it down and keep it from unfolding. (The thread was hidden in the seam.) So basically I sewed all around the pant leg, but took a detour and made a few stitches up each seam and back down, perpendicular to the rest of the hem stitches. Make sense?
Turn back to right side out and iron.

And here's the finished product, finished just as Jon was needing to rush out the door to give an address during the high school graduation ceremony.

And I was rushing back in to figure out what to wear, eat my dinner, get Caleb ready for the babysitter, and leave in the next 5 minutes so I wouldn't miss hearing my husband speak.

Procrastination is for the birds. Someday I'll learn my lesson. In the meantime, hopefully this tutorial will help you stay out of a similar situation!